Gravity hose-coupling.



E. E. sou).-

GRAV-ITY HOSE COUPLING. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24. 1903.

1,%45,3 Patented Nov. 6, 1917.

EDWARD-E. GOIJD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNGRTO'GQIiDfiABLIGHTING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, I I, E1, ACQRBGBIATIONOF- NEW: YORK,

GRAVITY HOSE-COUPIJING;-

Specificationtf Letters Patent.

Application-med June 24, 19 03. SefialNo. 162,898.

To all about 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD E. GOLD, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gravity Hose-Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to direct port or straight port couplers especially adapted for coupling the steam hose of railway cars. Couplers of this type are characterized by a director substantially straight steam passage longitudinally through the coupling heads, the meeting faces of which are in a normally vertical plane substantially perpendicular. to the general direction of the hose or pipe: the coupling heads are adapted to lock together by gravity, so that they couple by a downward movement and are uncoupled by an upward movement; to this end such couplers have on one side of each head a locking projection or lug, and on tln opposite side an arm which projects longi tudinally alongside of the opposite head and:

termii'iates in an inturned lug or hook having an undercut looking or wedging face adapted to engage with the projection on the. opposite head. These features of construotion are well understood, and couplers of this character are now in ahnost universal use forconnecting the steam heating hose of railway cars. They are applicable also for air-brake and air-signal hose connections.

W'ith such direct port gravity couplers, the stability of the engagement of the respective heads when locked together is due partly to the weight of the heads which byv their tendency to descend act to crowd the locking provisions into closer engagement, and partly to the friction of the locking faces which engage with a wedging movement. The drawing apart of the cars when uncoupled acts tostraighten the hose and thereby to throw up the couplers, and automatically uncouples them. This automatic uncoupling is assured by forming the necks on the coupling heads for the attachment of the hose thereto,to project upward at such an angle that, the straightening out of the hose w illtilt u' the 'seatin-gfaces andtherej P. V

by disengage the coupling provisions. It isv practically necessary to make the couplers capable of-automatic uncoupling, so that If,

in uncoupling two cars, the trainrnan shouldi omit topart the hose coupliagthe latter may part itself by the straightening out of thehose, and without injury to the latter. In the 'endeavo'r to maintain? the capacity, for automatic r'rncoupling, it has been heretofore found impossible to provide against 'the 0c; casional 'pr'i'llmg apart of the couplers o'nexceptionally sharp curves, and especially on rci "rsc curves. The margin between the straightening of the hoseon such a curv andsuc'h straightenn'igof the hose asshou'ld effect automatic uncoupling, isfa narroivfone, Accidental uncouplingfis also fre uently caused by the couplershanging, too low. and strikiifigja frog, or switclniv'hich throws the couplers up. I g

Itis the object of my invention to supplement the ordinary gravity locking provi sions with such addit onal and auxlhary fastening means as will practically insure agains't'the accidental uncoupling of the couplers on reverse curves, or under any other conditions where their 'unlc'oupling is to be avoided, without preventing their nor-- mal automatic uncoupling w'henthe uncou pled cars are drawn apart. Hy invention also aims to avoid introducing any difliculty in the manual coupling or, uncoupling op erations, but on they contrary to facilitate the coupling operation by thcprovision of means PatentedNov. 6, 2591?.

-. 100. sufficient to, prevent the, accidental, parting of the heads without-anterferin'g with their.

normal automatic uncoupling. The spring latch may be variously formed, and the spring pressure may be variously applied to it; likewise the recess or engaging face on the opposite coupler with which it coacts may be variously shaped, provided their interrelation be such as to attain the effect of cooperating to the desired degree with the action of the gravity locking provisions. Thus either or both of the interengaging faces may be inclined, so as to introduce a wedging action, or in any other way may the latch be made to resist the uncoupling movement by a flexure of its spring, To attain symmetry, I prefer to provide each coupling head with a spring latch, and with a recess or engaging face to coact with the latch on the opposite head.

The nature of my invention being new understood, I will proceed to describe in detail its preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, where- 1n Figure 1 is a bottom view of a pair of Gold straight port couplers intercoupled, showing the application of my invention thereto, the respective couplers being partly broken away and in section on the oblique plane 11 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 2- and 3 are side views of the respective coupling heads separated, showing my invention as applied thereto;

Fig. at is a vertical transverse section in three planes denoted approximately by the dotted line 4rt in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary oblique section on the line 55 in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, let A A designate the respective coupling heads, each of which is provided as usual with a tubular upturned neck 13 for the attachment of the hose, a seat or gasket C for making a steamtight oint with the abutting head, and with the usual locking provisions comprising a locking projection D (Fig. 3) on one side, called the lug, and a forwardly projecting locking arm E on the other side having an inturned lug or looking projection F, called the hook. The engaging faces of the projections D and F are made to overhang so as to hook together, as indicated in Fig. 1. In the Gold couplers, each head is also provided with a boss G on one side having a threaded hole into which to screw a drainage trap. All of the parts thus far re ferred to, and their operation in coupling and uncoupling, are so well understood that further description is unnecessary.

My present invention adds to each coupler a spring'latch, comprising in its preferred construction a spring-pressed bolt or pin H, which acts against a suitable engaging faceon the opposite head, preferably a recess I.

The latch presses in such direction, and is so formed where it engages the face I, and the latter is so shaped or inclined that their mutual engagement acts to resist the uncoupling movement of the respective heads; that is to say, their tendency is to prevent the upward and out-swinging movement of the heads necessary to uncouple, their resistance to this movement being sufficient to prevent accidental uncoupling but not sufficient to prevent the normal automatic uncoupling. Qbriously this result may be obtained by various arrangements and shapes of the latch H and face I, but for practical purposes the shapes, locations and relative arrangements shown are found preferable. Accordingly I will proceed to describe in detail the specific construction shown. The latch H is in the form of a cylindrical belt or pin passing horizontally through the locking arm and preferably through its thickened part forming the hook F. and projecting beyond this portion sufiiciently to enter into the recess I which is formed in a corresponding location on the side of the opposite head. Vhile the spring pressure may be variously applied. I have found it preferable to construct the spring as a leafspring K, fastened rigidly to or formed integrally with the pin, and extending along the locking arm E on the outer side thereof, and fastened at its opposite end to the cou pling head, preferably by a rivet a, although any other suitable fastening may be employed. I find it preferable to arrange the spring on the exterior side of the arm. and in order to secure as great length of spring as possible. to eXtend it obliquely. as shown in Fig. 2. This arrangement locates the pinv H toward the upper side of the locking arm, where it is most effective. and carries the rivet or fastening a. to the lower side thereof where it is beneath the boss G. To both guide and protect the spring. the outer side of the arm is formed preferably with oblique ribs 7) 7) between which the spring lies. As shown the recess I is shaped to presenton engagement with the latch when the coupling is locked, an oblique face, as clearly shown in Fig. 4-. the effect of which is to tend to force the latch lower and thereby draw the locking arm into closer engagement, but this is not essential. Suflicient play is afforded by the extension of the recess I on its lower side at 0 beyond the normal position of the latch H. to allow for an abnormal engagement of the heads such as occurs when the gaskets C C become worn or their packing rings are unusually com pressed. Thus when the coupling heads are locked as shown in Fig. 1, the springs K K are pressed outward as indicated. lVhen uncoupled the springs press in and lie flat against the outer faces of the arms, To facilitate coupling, the approach to the recess is formed as a groove J having a gradual engaging end of the latch H may be rounded as shown, or otherwise beveled or wedge shaped. the groove J being correspondingly shaped to properly engage with and guide the latch. hen both coupling heads are formed with grooves J and provided with latches H, the engagement of these parts serves as an assistance to the trainman in uniting the couplers, since they facilitate the initial fitting of the heads together in their uptilted position, and their subsequent downswinging movement in correct relation to properly couple them, and serve to bring the seats into alinement and hold them there.

My invention contemplates the provision 015 a spring latch on one head and a recess or other engaging face to coact with it on the other head, but preferably both heads will be provided with both the latch and recess, not only for symmetry, but to enable any head to inter-couple withany other head. The former arrangement, however, where the couplers are respectively rights and lefts, may be used on roads where cars are never turned end for end, but always couple in the same relation.

Practical use of my invention has demon strated that the spring latch so effectively cooperates with and reinforces the coupling action of the gravity coupling provisions, that accidental uncoupling, even on the sharpest reverse curves used in practice, is wholly prevented, without impairing the ca pacity of the coupler for automatic uncoupling in the event that the trainman shall have forgotten to uncouple the hose. The addition of the spring latch serves to facilitate the coupling action, rendering the correct approach of the respective heads more certain and easy. In uncoupling, the latch easily responds to the manual uptilting movement which is essential to uncoupling, and requires only that this movement be started by a somewhat sharper'pull than is commonly given in uncoupling couplers of this type.

To enable the bolt H' to resist the lateral or tilting strainv to which it is subjected by its pressure against the inclined face I and prevent the transmission of this'strain to the spring, the bolt H is preferably sup ported at its inner and outer ends in the manner best shown in Fig. 4. The hole in the arm through which the bolt passes is caused to approach closely beneath it to ward its inner end'at e, and closely over it nearits outer end at f. the bolt H serves asa lever supported at the opposite points 6 f. When the bolt is as shown formed integrally with the spring K, thestiifness of their connection. makes it desirable that the hole shall be elongated asshown in Fig. 3, so that as the bolt is Thus under strain pressed back by'the rising incline J, it has enough room to swing outwardly.

I am well aware that it has frequently been proposedto construct hose or plpe cous plings with coupling provisions in the nature of a spring latch or look for uniting the respective coupling heads, but in all such cases the spring latch haseither been the sole means for holding the heads united, or has been an essential adjunct of other means, such for example as a screw or bayonetjoint, and in allsuch couplings the coupling has been effected either by a rotary movement around the axis of the meeting faces, of by a sliding engagement parallel with such axis, or by a rocking movement on a. trans verse axis, the spring latch being essential to hold-the heads coupled. Prior to my invention a spring latch has .not so far as I am aware been applied as an auxiliary locking device to a gravity coupler where the heads are primarily locked together by interengaging locking faces locking by a gravity action and unlocking in opposition to the action of gravity.

It will be understood that the guiding function of the grooves J having arc-shaped inner or outer faces and cooperating with the engaging ends of the latches or bolts H, is independent of the yielding or springlatch function of the bolts; that is to say, the rising. and falling inclines forming the bottoms of the grooves J and recesses I and which serve to impart endwise movement to the spring-pressed latches or bolts, are the'only parts of the grooves and recesses which cooperate with the spring-latch function of the bolts, the guiding function of the grooves being performed by their arcshaped inner or outer faces or both engaging the inner or outer sides of the bolts H and thereby, independently of any endwise movement of the bolts, serving to guide the coupling heads in their descending or coupling movement and serving to bring their gravity locking provisions (namely, the projections D and F.) into correct engagement, and to bring their seats or gaskets into alinement, and after coupling to hold them in'such alinement.

lVhat I claim. is

1. A direct-port gravity ho-secoupler for railway cars, comprising reciprocally-engaging heads havinglocking means comprisnag-av lug on one side of each head and an arm on the opposite sideformed with a hookfor engaging the lug on the other head, adapted to couple by a downward swinging movement, to hold the heads coupled against internal pressure during normal running, and to uncouple automatically with an upward movement by the tautening of the hose as the cars draw apart, the one head provided with an auxiliary spring latch and the other head having a recess adapted to receive such latch, the latch and recess being relatively formed to engage impositively, and when en aged adapted to resist the uncoupling movement to prevent accidental uncoupling.

2. A direct-port gravity hose-coupler having on one side of its head a locking lug and on the other side a hooked locking arm, adapted to engage such lug on a mating coupler, adapted to couple with its mating coupler by a downward swinging movement and to automatically uncouple with an upward movement by the tautening of the hose as the cars draw apart, and having a recess in the side of its head, adapted to receive an impositive spring latch projecting horizontally through the arm of the mating coupler.

3. A direct-port gravity hose-coupler having on one side of its head a locking lug and on the other side a hooked locking arm adapted to engage such lug on a mating coupler, and having a recess in the side of its head, adapted to receive a spring latch projecting from the mating coupler, and an incline adapted to press back such latch during the coupling movement.

4. A direct-port gravity hose-coupler having on one side of its head a locking lug and on the other side a hooked locking arm adapted to engage such lug on a mating coupler, and having a recess adapted to receive a spring latch on the mating coupler and a. groove adapted to guide said latch into said recess.

A direct port gravity hose-coupler having on one side of its head a locking lug and on the other side a hooked locking arm adapted to engage such lug on a mating coupler, combined with a spring latch adapted to engage the mating coupler, and with an arc-shaped guiding face adapted to receive a latch on the mating coupler and guide it during the coupling movement.

67 A directport gravity hose-coupler having locking means comprising a lug on one side of its head and on the other slde a hooked locking arm adapted to engage-such uncoupling movement sufliciently to prevent accidental uncoupling, but not sufliciently to prevent automatic uncoupling as the cars draw apart.

7. A direct-port gravity hose-coupler having locking means comprising a lug on one side of its head and on the other side a hooked locking arm adapted to engage such lug on a mating coupler, combined with an auxiliary impositive spring latch comprising a pin passing through an opening in said arm, and a leaf spring engaging the outer end of said pin, extended along the outer side of said arm, and fastened thereto, said latch adapted in cooperation with said locking means to resist the uncoupling movement sufficiently to prevent accidental uncoupling, but not sufficiently to prevent automatic uncoupling as the cars draw apart.

8. A direct-port gravity hose-coupler having locking means comprising a lug on one side of its head and on the other side a hooked locking arm adapted to engage such lug on a mating coupler, combined with an auxiliary impositive spring latch comprising a pin passing through an opening in said arm, and a leaf spring united integrally to said pin, extended along the exterior of the arm, and fastened thereto, said latch adapted in cooperation with said locking means to resist the uncoupling movement sufliciently to prevent accidental uncoupling, but not sufficiently to prevent automatic uncoupling as the cars draw apart.

9. A direct-port gravity hose-coupler having locking means comprising a lug on one side of its head and on the other side a hooked locking arm adapted to engage such lug on a mating coupler, combined with an auxiliary impositive spring latch comprising a pin passing through an opening in said arm, and a leaf spring engaging the outer end of said pin, extended along the outer end of said arm, and fastened thereto, said arm formed with longitudinal ribs parallel with and protecting said spring, said latch adapted in cooperation with said looking means to resist the uncoupling movement sufiiciently to prevent accidental uncoupling, but not sulficiently to prevent automatic uncoupling as the cars draw apart.

10. A direct-port gravity hose-coupler having on one side of its head a locking lug and on the other side a hooked locking arm adapted to engage such lug on a mating coupler, combined with an auxiliary impositive spring latch comprising a pin passing through an opening in said arm, above the middle thereof, and a leaf spring engaging said pin, extended obliquely along the outer side of said arm, and fastened thereto at a point below its middle.

11. A direct-port gravity hose-coupler having on one side of its head a locking lug and on the other side a hooked locking arm adapted to engage such lug on a mating coupler, combined with an auxiliary impositiie spring latch comprising a pin passing through an opening in said arm, and a leaf spring engaging the outer end of said pin, extended along the outer side of said arm, and fastened thereto, and said arm 10 having an elongated opening with hearing signed my name in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

EDWARD E. GOLD.

l/Vitnesses:

THOMAS F. WALLACE, FRED WHITE.

Copies 01 this patent mav be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

